A Tale of a Strong Lady

I have a story. Something I didn’t tell a lot of people, something I didn’t talk about that often.

I always believe that there is a super power in everyone. There is one lady in my family that defines strong by being one. She is my eldest sister. Along.

Along has been a fighter for 13 years. She was 25. She has just started working after finishing her degree in Mechanical and Electronic Engineering. She was such a brilliant student. She is such a quick learner and great with machines. Give her a laptop and she can hack anything (well maybe not anything, but she’s one hella a hacker). She received an offer to study abroad back in 90s (which is a bigger deal back then) but had to decline it, thinking about all the other five younger sisters growing up requiring financial attention from our parents too. She ended up in UIA and did so well in her study, she received an offer as an engineer in an electronic company.

She was so young. There was no sign of major sickness before that until she suddenly went ill. She only had a long history of chesty cough. Too long, too dry that it never go away. Until one day it suddenly became so bad, she was admitted in hospital. Something is wrong and not a single doctor that she has met before ever thought about it. Obviously she has consulted many.

We spent many days in hospital, moving from ICU to CCU to a normal ward. It was confirmed. She had kidney failure. It was bad. Both of the kidneys were not functioning anymore. The only solution is to start dialysis immediately. She did and has been doing this for 13 years.

The kidney problem is definitely no joke. Having one of your major organs not functioning is like driving a car with only there wheels. It is almost impossible, but doable if you carry that one side and push it around. Only a strong one can do that and my sister did.

She kept going on with dialysis treatments three times a week, every week, no cheating. She is so strong that she did not complain about it. Nobody knows how she sleeps at night, but none of us has seen her crying as much as we did, even when she was sick.

She kept going on despite all the side effects that the dialysis treatments are giving her. Despite numerous “check in” to ICUs, CCUs or any other wards in the hospital due to many complications. Despite bones that broken (her bones became fragile because the body is getting less calcium). Despite major head operation (I can never tell the right medical terms, I’m sorry) to remove blood clot that gave her major headache for months.

Despite all, she is still that cheerful sister that I have. The one that took care of her younger sisters. The one who are so helpful at home and cook as good as my mother. The one that showed me how to be strong, by simply to not complain or cry but to keep going on. The one that showed me to accept what written does not mean that you are giving up.

Yesterday, she had another surgery. It was Parathyroidectomy surgery this time. This is not the first medical surgery on her but it never gets easier to us. No matter how simple or complicated the procedure is, you will always get scared whenever your loved ones being pushed to an operation theatre.

This year should be the year. For her to finally do the kidney transplant, given that a suitable organ is available. Please send prayers to her. For her to find a kind hearted donor, to safely go through the surgery and to live her life with complete wheel set again. For us to stay as strong as her in this journey, and be happily together for the longest time possible.

If she can endure this for this long, all of us can carry on with whatever tests that life throw us with, insyaAllah. Just keep going on…

 

With love and strength to all of you,

Ayuyu.